Rita caught the movement and smirked. She studied him intently as he hoisted himself out of the pool, retrieved her drink and returned.
She half-swam, half-waded toward him as he settled into the water without spilling her Kamikaze. She came much closer than was necessary to take the cup from his hand, invading his personal space.
"Thank-you," she purred, trapping his fingers between the cup and her own hand, then lifting it to take a sip while gazing intently into his eyes.
First impressions were way off with this woman. She turned him on, big-time, and behaved as if it was mutual.
"Mmm, there's Venus," she said, pointing over his back with her free hand. "Do you know your stars and planets?"
Miles shook his head, resisting the urge to stare down into her cleavage or reach underwater to grab her butt.
"Turn around," she said. "I'll show you."
He turned around and looked up. During the movement, their hands broke contact and she set the drink on the ledge of the pool. Her other arm was still extended, index finger pointing into the sky. Then he felt her body close the distance between them. Her bare legs touched his. Her breasts pressed against his back. Her hand, now free of the cup, snaked around to flatten against his stomach. He shivered involuntarily and his groin throbbed.
"Right there," she whispered, in his ear. "See it?"
"It looks like a really bright star," he said, finding it difficult to care much about that Venus when this Venus was so close to him.
"Mmm-hmm." Her lips brushed his ear. "Are you cold? You're shivering."
"I'm not cold." In fact, he was so hot he imagined the water boiling around them.
Her hand pulled at his shoulder. He took the hint and turned around. Now their faces were only inches apart.
"Do I make you nervous?" she asked.
"A little," he admitted, "but in a good way."
She smirked again. "A good way? You're shivering like you're scared of me. Do I scare you?"
"At first you did," he said. "When Frank introduced us, I thought you wanted to slap me."
"I don't want to slap you, Miles," she said, with a mischievous grin. Then she bobbed up from the water, leaned forward and cupped her hand between her mouth and his ear. "I think I might want to spank you, though." Before the shock of her words had fully registered, her hand slid around to grip his cheek, she leaned forward even closer and stuck her tongue in his ear.
Miles had all he could take. He reached underwater, grabbed her by the waist and bent down to kiss her.
He wanted to mash his mouth against hers and ram his tongue down her throat, but she deflected so that their lips only brushed. "Calm down, big boy," she said, huskily. He tried again, but she caught his lower lip between her teeth and bit down gently. Then she sucked on it before pulling her face away again.
"You were pacing yourself so well up to now," she said, with a teasing tone. "Now we need to teach you to slow back down again."
He checked himself. He remembered that women--even the hotblooded ones like Rita--had to have their passion built up in stages. He kissed her gently, on the cheek, neck and mouth, with his own lips pressed together. She responded well, and finally, one time when their mouths met, she forced his open and her tongue darted in.
He pulled her against him and their passion nearly exploded. Then suddenly she pulled away. Her hands pushed down on his forearms until he let go. She backed up until there was just enough water between them that he couldn't touch her.
"Mmm. You shouldn't bring loaded weapons to public parties, Miles. It might go off and hurt somebody."
"It's not dangerous," Miles said, aching with need.
"It felt dangerous when it stabbed me in the belly," she cooed.
"It won't hurt you. I promise." He reached out for her but she retreated from his reach, giggling. "It's not designed to hurt."
"Oh, I don't know," she said, and reached forward to briefly caress one of his groping hands. "It's supposed to hurt--but in a good way."
She laughed, but he was too single-minded at this point to fully appreciate humor.
She caught both his hands with her own, and came in close again. "It's been too long since I've been hurt in a good way. How about you?"
"It's been a while," he admitted.
"Do you have any STDs?"
"STDs?" between the liquor and the pheromones, his brain didn't recognize the acronym.
"Sexually transmitted diseases," she clarified.
He shook his head, horrified. "No!"
"I'm going to my house, two doors over to the right, with the Lexus in the driveway. Wait here for half an hour, then come over." She pulled away, turned, and waded toward the steps.
Miles watched Rita ascend from the pool, still trembling with desire for her. Just before she wrapped a beach towel around that dynamite figure, she glanced over her shoulder at him, smirked and winked.
5
Shauna dropped Katina off at her parents' house Friday night, where Clarence picked her up in his Jaguar.
She slid into the passenger seat and Clarence gave her an appraising once-over, his gaze lingering on her legs showing under the skirt, and the slope of her breasts above her neckline.
Her father had voiced disapproval of her outfit. Shauna had been ignoring his fashion guidelines since moving into her own place. She dressed conservatively compared to the cultural average, but she didn't hide her curves, partly because she enjoyed turning male heads. Granted, it was dangerous to attract the wrong kind of man, but she knew Clarence. She felt both safe and validated when his head turned after her.
Also, it was rare to find a man like Clarence who didn't want the skinny supermodel type. Shauna's best friend, Celeste, had once remarked that girls with a body like Shauna's were desired by drug dealers, pimps and rap stars more than by doctors, lawyers and CEOs. The comment hurt Shauna's feelings and started a fight. They didn't speak to each other for months. Part of what hurt so much was that Shauna could see some truth in it.
Clarence lusted after her body, for sure, but unlike most guys, he at least acknowledged that she had a brain, too. Most of the time.
He was a handsome brother. He stood at five-foot-nine, and was in terrific shape. He wore an immaculately tailored gray suit tonight, with a salmon-colored tie. The air conditioning ran full-blast inside the Jaguar to keep him from sweating, which chilled her bare arms and shoulders.
They drove into a new development north of town while Clarence updated her on his latest property investments, and the next car he wanted to buy. These things had been mildly interesting to her once, but not so much any more. When his monologue lulled, she tried to tell him about Katina's picture. He interrupted to tell her about the timeshare opportunity he was checking into.
Clarence opened the console and produced a small rectangular box, tied with an elegant gold ribbon. "Here's a little something I picked up for you."
She took the box and gushed, "Oh Clarence! What is it?" He was always thinking of her--she had to give him that. He'd given her dozens of gifts in the year they'd known each other, all of them tasteful and expensive. She untied the ribbon and opened the box. Inside was a slim gold chain, the links so tightly crafted that it appeared more like the body of a flat golden serpent.
"A bracelet," she said, breathily. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "It's so pretty, Clarence." She already had the stylish lady's watch he'd bought on her left wrist. She unclasped the chain and draped it over her right forearm.
"Actually," Clarence said, adjusting his own jewelry on his driving hand, "it's an ankle bracelet. I know you got that wild side. This'll help you flaunt it."
"Wild side?" she echoed. "I have a wild side?"
"You and that outdoors thang," Clarence said. "Takin' your daughter out into nature for lunch. Walkin' barefoot in the grass, but wearin' stiletto heels everywhere else. You wild, girl. What if you step on a broken bottle or something out there?"
Shauna no longer bothered trying to
explain her likes and dislikes to Clarence. It always ended with him implying that one day she'd grow up and acquire good taste…like him.
They arrived at the new reservation-only Japanese restaurant. The grand opening had just occurred, and all the trendy crowd were flocking in to try it out.
The chef prepared the food right in front of them, cracking jokes and doing tricks. Shortly after he rolled his cart out of their private room, Shauna and Clarence ran out of things to talk about.
They went to the movies afterwards, a romantic comedy, and enjoyed it, though it was fairly formulaic. On the way home, Shauna tried to broach the relationship subject.
"Where do you see us going, Clarence?"
"Down the aisle together one day, I hope," he said, flashing her that charming smile.
"Are you sure you feel that strongly?" she asked. "I mean, marriage is a big step. I've got a daughter. I still haven't made it to nursing school. We don't have a whole lot in common, you know?"
"You tryin' to pull out?" he asked, alarmed.
"I'm not trying to pull out, Clarence. Pull out of what? What is this that we're in?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. But I want you to be with me."
Flattered, she grinned. "Really?"
"Really."
She leaned over to kiss his cheek again. "You're a good guy, Clarence. I really appreciate you; you know that?"
"I appreciate you, too."
"But what if I'm not ready to be with anyone yet?"
"Girl," he assured her, "I'm gonna be right here until you are ready."
"Okay." She sighed. It was nice to have somebody feel that way about her. Real nice.
He pulled the Jaguar off the road when they reached the turnoff. One way led to Mum's house. The other way led to his place.
"We gotta get back on that horse, Shauna," he said, gently. "Please let's try again."
She hesitated, feeling pangs of fear, guilt and inadequacy. "I've got to take Katina home."
"Just a couple hours, Shauna. You know how hard it's been, wantin' you all the time? Needin' you? I ain't gonna force myself on you, but this is an important part of a relationship. We can get there, together. All I'm askin' is for you to give it another chance."
"Okay," she said.
He drove her to his house, a five-bedroom, three bath waterfront property with a three-car garage. Inside and out, the place was furnished with nothing but the best, just like Clarence's wardrobe.
The attempt started out with promise--Clarence lit candles, played soft music, and poured her some wine. As he undressed her, he massaged all over her body. He'd been studying some techniques, and they were not unpleasant, but the cold touch of his jewelry was distracting. Then it was time for him to undress. That's when the magic began to fade.
There was nothing wrong with Clarence's physique. Quite the contrary--he was a body-builder and his muscles were superbly defined. What broke the spell was his compulsion to stand in front of the mirror and watch himself undress. She understood that most bodybuilders liked to shave their legs and wax their chests, and she probably could have gotten used to that, but seeing him flex for his own titillation, then linger to admire himself after fully disrobing, was a turn-off.
Assured that his foreplay obligations were met for the evening, Clarence returned to the bed and stabbed right for the jackpot. She turned her face to the side so his chains and necklaces stopped bouncing off her nose, and tried to move with him. It was over soon enough, and she took a hasty shower before dressing.
"You still don't like it?" Clarence asked, unbelievingly, as he drove her to her parents' house.
"It was nice," she said. "Candlelight and wine. Soft music. I liked the way you touched me at the beginning."
He wiggled his eyebrows and grinned, his confidence back. "You like that, huh? I'm gonna figure you out, Shauna. I'm gonna have you beggin' for mercy before long."
"It's nice that you made an effort to please me," she said.
Despite her hurtful remark about Shauna's figure, Celeste was built much the same as her curvy friend. She was a couple years older, a couple inches taller, and maybe half a shade lighter. Aside from that, their differences were few. She taught sixth grade English in the inner city, but lived only five minutes away from Shauna's neighborhood.
Katina played in her room while Shauna sat on the floor, with Celeste seated behind her on the couch braiding her hair. Oprah's latest episode played quietly on the TV while Celeste worked. Shauna saved the latest episodes of Oprah and Tyra Banks on the DVR any time Celeste came over to fix her hair.
"I know, girlfriend," Celeste said, referring to Clarence. "He's a fine-looking brother. He's got a job--a good job. Drug-free and no other habits draining his money. Educated..."
"And he talks like he's crazy about me," Shauna said. "Clarence talks a little too smooth," Celeste said, twisting her lips. "Like somebody taught him the right things to say."
That reminded Shauna of their last date. "I think he went and bought a book on erotic massage or something, too. He touched me in a way he never has before. Like somebody taught him."
Celeste dropped the braid she'd been working on, leaned to the side and looked down at her friend. "Did he send you over the top?"
Shauna looked down in her lap. "No, but it was kind of nice for a while."
Disappointed, Celeste went back to braiding. "Details, Shauna."
Shauna giggled. "He undressed me first this time, but he still got stuck in front of the mirror."
Celeste rolled her eyes and shook her head. "And he still doesn't kiss you, does he?"
"I think he's a germaphobe."
Celeste sighed. "Well, to be honest, some women don't like kissing, either."
"That's probably the kind of woman Clarence needs," Shauna said.
"And the kind of woman who likes a man to shave his legs," Celeste said, "tweeze his eyebrows; iron his underwear; spend a half hour in the bathroom; and wear more jewelry than she does."
"But she should look like a drug-dealer's ho," Shauna added, and they shared a laugh.
"That ain't right, Shauna. I thought we moved past all that."
"Your turn: how's Celeste's love life?"
"I'm about to start clubbing after work again. That's how desperate it is."
"No cute teachers?"
"Married. I went out with one of the coaches a couple times, but it just didn't fly."
They watched Oprah talk relationships for a while.
"Shauna," Celeste blurted, "you should move back in with your family, save some money, then tell that customer service job to stick it and take your black butt to nursing school."
"I can't move back in," Shauna said. "Daddy converted my old room to his 'man-cave'."
"Man-cave?"
"You know: big-screen high-definition TV; Blue-Ray, surround sound. Blah-blah-blah. Me and Katina gonna live on the couch?" She had thought of all this many times, long before Celeste brought it up.
Shauna put nursing school on the back-burner when her and Dwayne got serious. At twenty years old, she became pregnant with Katina, and moved out of her parents' home. Dwayne lived up to his responsibility for a few years, but always had a selfish streak. From the time Shauna was struggling to lose her post-pregnancy weight, until their final break-up, he played. Apparently there were plenty of girls out there who enjoyed sex, and Dwayne left town with one. She didn't know where he was now--rumors had him in New York or Philly--and his child support payments had stopped two years ago when he disappeared for good.
"Besides," Shauna said, "my parents deserve to enjoy their empty nest." She raised her hands, palms up, and gestured around her. "This situation is my fault, Celeste. Daddy told me to get serious about school when I was under his roof, but I spent all my time with Dwayne. He told me Dwayne would break my heart, but I didn't listen. Mum begged me to stay with them, bring Katina up in their house, not move in with Dwayne. But I didn't listen."
"Maybe you and me should move in to
gether," Celeste suggested.
"Then what happens when you find a man?"
They didn't speak for a few minutes, until Celeste broke the silence again. "We're both gonna find the right man, Shauna. And you're gonna become a nurse. We're still young, black and beautiful, and our day will come."
6
Lots of changes took place in the next few weeks--most of them because Shauna got the promotion to team leader. Her workload remained about the same, but the emphasis changed from dealing with customers all the time, to dealing with other CSRs most of the time. It was a welcome change, though it had its challenges.
Shauna moved into her position just as the preparations for the Avcom Central Division conference were heating up. She learned that Marcie Lualu's people would indeed be required to dress up according to the Hawaiian theme and dance the hula during the presentation. Officially, Marcie didn't take over the Call Center until after the conference, and she was just showing Shauna the ropes on her way up. Unofficially, Marcie spent most of her time preparing for her transition to manager and only conferred directly with Shauna before and after meetings.
As a team leader, Shauna was expected to set the bar in participation and enthusiasm for the hula dance. Meetings about the stupid conference presentation constantly interrupted her duties, which she was trying to learn along the way.
Somehow, she was able to take a few more calls from Miles, when he made sales or had customers with billing disputes. She now had her own phone extension, and gave it to him. His calls were always a welcome distraction from the madness in the call center.
Shauna thought long and hard about her relationship with Clarence--especially the sexual aspect of it.
Letting Dwayne sample her goodies was a huge mistake, though she did get a wonderful daughter as a result. Letting Clarence raid the candy store was also a mistake. Now he wanted to keep trying until he got it right, but she didn't think it could be right with him. Her libido had been waking up for the last couple years--she felt powerful arousal, sometimes, and she experienced erotic dreams most nights. And she did feel good...empowered, even...when she witnessed the arousal she inspired in Clarence. But the act itself had always disappointed. She didn't want to believe she was frigid. The real problem was, she decided, it hadn't yet happened with the right man at the right time. And maybe she was a late bloomer on top of everything else.
Overcoming Page 5